COVID-19: 100 days that changed the world

December 30, 2019: Li Wenliang posted in a social media group about a SARS-like illness that within weeks would explode into the coronavirus epidemic that has infected more than 25,000 people.

December 31, 2019: Authorities investigated an outbreak of viral pneumonia in central China. There were 27 cases of "viral pneumonia of unknown origin" reported in Wuhan leaving seven patients in a critical condition. Most of the patients worked at a seafood market in the city.

January 14, 2020: There may have been limited human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus in China within families, and it is possible there could be a wider outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

January 22, 2020: In an attempt to contain the virus, Chinese authorities advised people in the city of 11 million people not to leave Wuhan.

January 29, 2020: the Ministry of Health and Community Protection has confirmed four cases of coronavirus in the UAE. The virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has so far claimed 132 lives and infected near 6,000 people across the globe.

January 30, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the China coronavirus outbreak that has killed 213 people in China a global emergency, as cases spread to 18 countries.

February 2, 2020: The Philippines said that a 44-year-old Chinese man had died of the new coronavirus, the first fatality outside of China, prompting tighter travel restrictions for both Filipinos and foreigners. | Health Secretary Francisco Duque (above)

February 3, 2020: The first patients arrived at a 1,000-bed hospital built in 10 days as part of China's efforts to fight a new virus. Huoshenshan Hospital and a second facility with 1,500 beds that is due to open this week were built by construction crews who are working around the clock in Wuhan, the city in central China where the outbreak was first detected in December.

February 7, 2020: Chinese doctor reprimanded for warning against a “SARS-like” coronavirus before it was officially recognised died of the illness, triggering online expressions of anger at the government and fuelling suspicions of censorship. The death of Li Wenliang, 34, came as Chinese President Xi Jinping told the United States that China was doing all it could to contain the virus after earlier assuring the World Health Organization (WHO) of full openness and transparency.

February 12, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the official name for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (previously called 2019-nCoV) is Covid-19. The word "coronavirus" refers to the group of viruses it belongs to, rather than the latest strain. The virus itself has been designated SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

February 22, 2020: The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak surged past 1,000 in China as the World Health Organization warned that the epidemic poses a "very grave" global threat.

February 23, 2020: Tens of thousands of Italians prepared for a weeks-long quarantine in the country's north as nerves began to fray among the locals faced with new lockdown measures. Over 50,000 residents in eleven towns - 10 in Lombardy and one in the neighbouring region of Veneto - now face what Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte could be weeks of lockdown.

February 24, 2020: South Korea reported 161 more coronavirus cases, taking the nationwide total to 763 and making it the world’s largest total outside China. Most of the country’s cases are connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu.

February 24, 2020: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief, warned countries to prepare for a "potential pandemic" of new coronavirus. He called the spike in cases in Iran, Italy and South Korea "deeply concerning".

February 29, 2020: An empty restaurant in Piazza della Scala in Milan. Milan is strongly hit by economic downturn since the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy causing residents and business owners concern.

March 2, 2020: Saudi Arabia has reported the first case of coronavirus. The Kingdom revealed that the infected case is a citizen who came from Iran via Bahrain, according to the official news agency.

March 11, 2020: The World Health Organisation termed the new coronavirus infection, COVID-19, a pandemic. When WHO announced it on Twitter, they also said "... we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction." Here we try and address all the questions you may have about the declaration.

March 13, 2020: U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the fast-spreading coronavirus, opening the door to providing what he said was about $50 billion in federal aid to fight the disease.

March 17, 2020: France moved into a near-total lockdown over the coronavirus to impose draconian restrictions affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world. European leaders also plan to ban all non-essential travel into the continent in a bid to stem a pandemic that has killed thousands, upended society and battered economies.

March 19, 2020: China reports zero local infections. The news offered a rare glimmer of hope for the rest of the world as it battles the virus, and perhaps a lesson in the strict measures needed to halt its spread.

March 21, 2020: Close to one billion people worldwide were confined to their homes as the global coronavirus death toll shot past 11,000 and US states rolled out lockdown measures already imposed across swathes of Europe. The pandemic has completely upended lives across the planet, restricting movement, shutting schools and forcing millions to work from home.

March 23, 2020: Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Britons to stay at home to try to halt the spread of coronavirus, closing non-essential shops, telling people not to meet with friends or family and warning those who do not follow the rules face fines.

March 24, 2020: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, has announced a complete lock down across India, starting 12am on March 25 for 21 days. In a virtual and live address to the nation, posted on his social media channels, Modi said that the ban will be active on everyone in the country for 21 days.

March 24, 2020: Tokyo Olympics rescheduled for July 23-August 8 in 2021. After holding out for weeks, local organizers and the IOC last week postponed the Tokyo Games under pressure from athletes, national Olympic bodies and sports federations. It's the first postponement in Olympic history, though there were several cancellations during wartime.

March 25, 2020: The Diamond Princess cruise ship is seen at a pier in the port of Yokohama. Last month, the cruise ship Diamond Princess was quarantined off the coast of Japan and more than 700 people of the 3,700 passengers and crew on board tested positive for COVID-19.

March 26, 2020: The United States now has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, according to data gathered both by Johns Hopkins University and The New York Times. Johns Hopkins said the US has 82,404 cases, while the Times said there were at least 81,321 people who tested positive for COVID-19.

April 2, 2020: Confirmed coronavirus cases around the world topped one million and the number of deaths soared past 50,000 as Europe reeled from the pandemic and the United States reported record numbers of people out of work.

April 3, 2020: A flight attendant waits for the departure of a one-passenger flight between Washington and New Orleans as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Washington, U.S. | The coronavirus pandemic is currently wreaking havoc across the global aviation industry.

April 6, 2020: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to an intensive care unit after his coronavirus symptoms worsened though his Downing Street office said he was still conscious. Britain has no formal succession plan should the prime minister become incapacitated, but Johnson, 55, has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise for him.

April 8, 2020: The Chinese city where the coronavirus epidemic first broke out, Wuhan, ended a two-month lockdown on Wednesday, but a northern town started restricting the movement of its residents amid concerns of a second wave of infections in mainland China.